For most of the 20th century, all rail traffic between Honshu and Shikoku arrived and departed on train ferries at the port of Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. However, after the Great Seto Bridge opened in 1988 and directly connected the railways across the Seto Inland Sea, most trains to other parts of Shikoku have bypassed Takamatsu altogether. Accordingly, when we came from Kōchi, we had to change from the Nanpū limited express to a local train at Utazu, the last station before the bridge.
Despite having lost some of its importance as a transport hub since the 1980s, Takamatsu Station remains the largest and busiest JR station in Shikoku, and the only one which serves more than 10,000 passengers per day. It is also the only one with a giant smiley face above the main entrance to welcome visitors.
We first went to check in at the JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu, which is located on the other side of the station plaza, and were given a corner room with a good view of the port.
For even better views, we then went across the street to the Takamatsu Symbol Tower, the tallest building in Shikoku. In addition to having a free observation area on the top floor, it is also connected by walkways to the ferry terminal. Although obsolete for long-distance travel, ferries remain a vital mode of local transport in Takamatsu, connecting the city with the numerous outlying islands to the north.
On the south side, the urban sprawl of the city and its suburbs extends as far as the eye can see, covering all available flat land with buildings. From this vantage point, it would be hard to guess that Kagawa is the smallest prefecture in Japan in terms of area.
In between the port and the city center are the ruins of Takamatsu Castle. Its main keep was destroyed in 1884, leaving only the stone foundation; the site was subsequently turned into a city park. Due to its coastal location, it was one of the very few Japanese castles to have a seawater moat. This layout was highly resilient against siege tactics since reinforcements and supplies could be brought in by sea in the event that all land routes were blocked by the enemy.
Because the observation area closes fairly early, at 17:00, we couldn’t spend too long there and had to head down. After shopping at the souvenir store on the first floor, we went back to our hotel room to watch the sunset. Then, it was almost time for dinner. In Kagawa, the locals’ most prized dish is Sanuki udon, and there are more udon restaurants per capita than anywhere else in Japan, so we easily found one near the station and enjoyed the freshly made noodles.
The next morning, we woke up as the fog over the sea was beginning to clear and headed out early toward Ritsurin Garden, one of the finest landscape gardens in Japan.
From Takamatsu Station, we took a local train on the Kōtoku Line for two stops to Ritsurinkōen-Kitaguchi (Ritsurin Garden north entrance). Even though it is the nearest station to the city’s most prominent tourist attraction, it is unmanned with only a single track and is tucked away at the end of a residential side street.
The first area of interest that we passed in the garden was a grove of plum trees, which are usually known to bloom during late February and March.
Then, we meandered along the shore of a pond where it was sunny and the water calm. All of the water features in the garden are man-made and carefully designed to fit into the overall layout.
When we reached the southern half of the garden, we saw a lot of koi in the other ponds there. Actually, all of the ponds in the garden are connected, but the koi seemed to prefer areas with more shade and mostly congregated in a few spots beneath overhanging trees.
Also in the vicinity of the southernmost pond is a small hill, built to mimic the shape of Mt. Fuji, which provides the most famous view of Ritsurin Garden. As it was still early in the morning, the entire place was peaceful, with no one else in sight.
After descending the hill, we circled around the southwest corner of the pond back to the center of the garden. The wooden museum building there, built in 1899, is one of the best examples of Meiji era architecture in Takamatsu, having survived the Allied bombing in July 1945 that levelled 80% of the city.
Instead of taking the train again, we walked the 2 km back to the port area, passing by an even more significant work of architecture: the Kagawa Prefectural Government Hall, a pioneering modernist design by the most renowned Japanese architect of the 20th century, Kenzo Tange.
Completed in 1958 and still in use by the government, the building implements traditional Japanese elements using modern concrete and glass materials. Sadly, it had yet not reopened to the public due to the pandemic, so we were unable to go inside.
By the time we finished looking around the building, we were starting to get hungry because we hadn’t eaten much for breakfast, so we made a brief detour for gyudon. While it is a simple and unsophisticated dish, gyudon in Japan is cheap and readily available at chain restaurants that are often open for 24 hours.
Finally, for our last stop in Takamatsu, we went back to the station plaza and headed east from there along the waterfront, but since it was under construction, we had to walk on the other side of the road, next to the moat of the former castle.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at Kitahama Alley, a cluster of old industrial buildings converted to shops and restaurants. It was immediately clear that the place is highly popular with locals; all of the restaurants that we checked were either booked for events or had hour-long waits for a table. We also browsed the shops and saw mostly clothing, artwork, and home decorations on offer, not tourist souvenirs.
The overall retro atmosphere would be even more romantic at night, when the buildings are illuminated, but the majority of businesses there close no later than 18:00 on normal days, making the idea impractical.
Eventually, we were able to find open seats in this café and have a cup of coffee before going back to the station one last time to depart Takamatsu and conclude our journey around Shikoku.
